January 9, 2011
Keywords: Manufacturing industry Renewable Energy
JFE Engineering Corp. and Mitaka Kohki Co., a precision machinery maker of astronomical and medical instruments, announced on September 1, 2010, that they had jointly conducted the trial operation of a steam recovery demonstration experiment using a heat receiving system (receiver) for a collector tower type of solar thermal energy plant, and succeeded in collecting over 70 percent of the solar energy as steam with the heat-receiving system. They intend to develop and design the system for commercial use, and begin sales by the end of this fiscal year.
The equipment employed for the test included a combination of 72 solar collectors (heliostats) developed by Mitaka Kohki, and energy plant technologies such as a steam turbine made by JFE Engineering. Each heliostat, which automatically follows the sun and reflects the sunlight, measures 50 centimeters in diameter and consists of four single flat-plate mirrors. Then the sunlight was focused on a heat-absorbing device installed on the 10-meter-high tower, and the steam produced from the sunlight turned the turbine for generating power. The amount of solar heat collected in the trial was 57 kilowatts.
In the test, the companies succeeded in continuous and stable, highly condensed heat collection of solar energy, and proved the high efficiency of the new heat-absorbing device in producing steam. This result guarantees production of a comprehensive solar heat power plant, from heat collection to power generation. This technology can also be applied to a hybrid combined-cycle system by combining it with a highly efficient gas engine power generator to make up for the weather-sensitive nature of solar heat generation.
Posted: 2011/01/09 06:00:15 AM
JFE Engineering Corp. official website
http://www.jfe-eng.co.jp/en/